Try doing the side parts of the game, then it gets actually hard and fun. I found the game play very different, I rather enjoyed it being partially action and partially the same as the old. It seems to me you kind of grew outa RPG's by the fact you got bored of FF games got repetative. The story was bland, anywho I simply loved the game, and while gambits did make it kind of auto play, I prefered to play it with partial gambits and then actually doing most of it myself. Beat Gilgamish all 3 times and then come back =).
Overall the game isn't short, if you do all side stories, as I said try them and come back.
